In the latest assault by the Taliban, the insurgents kidnapped more than 100 people, including children and women, from a convoy of busses on a road in northern Afghanistan, officials said.
A conditional ceasefire announced by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani with the Taliban on the occasion of Eid al-Adha is currently on. The Taliban has not made any statement in connection with the attack and the condition of the kidnapped is not known.
The Taliban have resurged in recent years, seizing entire districts across Afghanistan and regularly carrying out large-scale bombings and attacks that have killed scores of people.
According to Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, the head of the provincial council in Kunduz, the insurgents stopped three busses on the road near Khan Abad district and forced the passengers to come with them.
Ayubi said he believes the Taliban were looking for government employees or members of the security forces who usually go home for the holidays.
Abdul Rahman Aqtash, police chief in neighboring Takhar province, said the passengers were from Badakhshan and Takhar provinces and were traveling to the capital, Kabul.
In his call yesterday for the truce, Ghani said, "The cease-fire should be observed from both sides, and its continuation and duration also depend on the Taliban's stand." Ghani made the announcement during celebrations of the 99th anniversary of Afghanistan's independence, just a day after the leader of the Afghan Taliban said that there will be no peace in the country as long as the "foreign occupation" continues.
The militant leader, Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah, reiterated the group's position that the country's 17-year war can only be brought to an end through direct talks with the United States.
In a message released on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and without pointing to any ceasefire the Taliban leader said on Saturday that the insurgents remain committed to "Islamic goals," the sovereignty of Afghanistan and ending the war.
For his part, Ghani said he hoped extensions could also be agreed upon to make the cease-fire last until November 20, which will mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
The government had previously announced a ceasefire with the Taliban during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in June. The Taliban accepted that three-day ceasefire, but later rejected a call by the president to extend it.
Earlier this month, the Taliban launched a major assault on the eastern city of Ghazni, just 120 kilometers from Kabul and the capital of a province with the same name.